Forgiveness is not a moral issue. It's a power issue. When we hold onto grievance and resentment, we are giving our power away.

When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others.

Zen is a way of life, not a theory or a piece of knowledge to be stored away in our minds.

Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.

Every experience is an opportunity to practice awareness.

Don't try to push away the darkness. Just light a lamp. The darkness will disappear by itself.

In the moment of love, awareness is very strong. Use that awareness, that strength of consciousness, to look into yourself.

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.

Liberation is found in the practice, not in the theory.

Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure.

Meditation is not about stopping thoughts, but recognizing that we are not our thoughts.

The nature of everything is illusory and ephemeral, those with dualistic perception regard suffering as happiness, like they who lick the honey from a razor's edge.

The practitioner and practice are like fire and wood. The more you practice, the more you burn.

The practice of metta begins with oneself, for only when we have developed loving-kindness towards ourselves can we truly offer it to others.

As rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, passion will break through an unreflecting mind.

Compassion is a verb.

To live – is that not enough? To love – is that not everything?

When we recognize that our thoughts are just thoughts, we can choose whether or not to follow them.

The nature of everything is empty and clear, and the mind is beyond both existence and nonexistence.

Nothing can harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.

The path to liberation is a gradual path of self-discipline, self-development, and self-transformation.

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophy or a religion; it is a method of practice.

Emptiness is not nothingness. Emptiness is the space of possibility.

Do not think you will necessarily be aware of your own enlightenment.

Not by hatred is hatred conquered, but by love alone. This is an eternal law.

Treat every moment as your last. It is not preparation for something else.

Zen is not necessarily against words, but it is well aware of their limitations.

Buddhas and ordinary beings are not two. Enlightenment and delusion are not different paths.

The practice of meditation is like learning to play an instrument - it takes patience, regular practice, and a gentle touch.

Reality is only a Rorschach ink-blot, you know.

If you want to find peace, then look at that point where you find you're dissatisfied and investigate what's really going on.

The dharma is not in the books. If you want to find the dharma, look in your mind.

In the spiritual world there are no time divisions such as the past, present and future; for they have contracted themselves into a single moment of the present where life quivers in its true sense.